1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to treatment of human skin and hair, and more particularly to method and system of conditioning human skin and hair using a conditioner on it having interchangeable conducting heads and/or conditioner units selected for use in the treatment of selected areas of the anatomy.
2. Description of Related Art:
A variety of methodologies have been pursued to improve human skin treatments that enhance skin appearance. One particular treatment includes the application of safe, low-levels of current to human skin in conjunction with topical preparations such as skin cleansers and moisturizers. Several hand-held devices have been used in the past to apply low-level electrical current to the skin.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,167 describes a hand holdable skin treatment apparatus that applies a small charge of electrical energy to selected contours of the face and neck. The skin treatment apparatus includes a housing containing a battery powered circuit. A pair of spaced apart electrical conductors are mounted on the exterior of the housing. During operation, one of the conductors is in continuous contact with the user's hand while the other conductor is horseshoe shaped and applied to the skin to be treated.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,038 that is directed to a skin treatment system and method using a hand-held electric skin/hair conditioner, an alkaline pH pretreatment, and an acidic pH treatment. The hand-held conditioner includes a housing containing electrical circuitry including a microprocessor and a rechargeable battery, an alphanumeric display coupled with the microprocessor, and two external broad area conductive electrodes connected to the circuitry. The treatment unit also includes recharging terminals for use with a recharger assembly. One of the electrodes, a hand-engaging electrode, is adapted to be in continuous contact with a user's hand during use, and the other electrode, a skin electrode, is adapted to apply electrical current to the skin of the user. The method includes applying the pretreatment to clean skin, holding the skin electrode to the cheek, moving the skin electrode over the skin to be treated while transmitting negative and positive current flow, washing the treated skin, applying the treatment to the skin, and moving the skin electrode over the skin to be treated.
Although the aforementioned skin treatment devices are useful for applications to facial skin, treatment of other areas of the body, such as scalp/hair and body skin, is desirable. Numerous health care and beauty care products have been developed for facial skin therapy, but many products have also been developed for application to other areas of the body. What is needed is a skin/hair treatment unit for use with a variety of body surfaces such as scalp/hair, body skin, and facial skin. Additionally needed is a skin/hair treatment unit having a hand engaging electrode that is optimally positioned to enhance conductivity to the face skin, body skin, and scalp/hair. Further needed is a skin/hair treatment system with a treatment unit having simple and easy interchangeable interfaces to address a variety of body surfaces.